An automatic delivery line in Yiwu, a small commodity hub in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/zgyww.cn]

With the epidemic gradually coming under control, cross-border e-commerce companies in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, reopened on Feb 10 and showed strong adaptability amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, local media reported on March 10.

As of March 4, the city has handled over 1.1 million in-bound parcels, an amount which would normally take over five months to process. Every day, Yiwu-based logistics companies are delivering over 45,000 parcels, 560 percent higher than the daily average during the same period in 2019.

With the opening of markets and businesses, orders from domestic and foreign buyers are coming in fast and Yiwu's foreign trade exports are seeing a steady upward trend.

The first and second districts of the Yiwu International Trade Market took the lead in reopening on Feb 18. Two hours later, Yiwu Customs received a declaration form for the first shipment of goods to be exported since the beginning of the outbreak. Within just three days, Yiwu Customs cleared over 37 million yuan ($5.32 million) in goods for export declaration.

According to customs authorities, the first declaration form was submitted by Yiwu Baihua International Freight Forwarding Co via a paperless form. The goods included wooden storage boxes, crystal balls, and clothing hooks, and the destination was the United States. The shipment later arrived at Ningbo Port after being inspected and arrived in Los Angeles after an 11-day sea voyage.

To assist e-commerce companies during this challenging time, Yiwu Customs has launched an online reservation service for 24-hour declaration and helped recruit temporary workers to handle the pile-up of parcels.

"From March 5 to 9, we managed to handle over 50,000 orders from International Women's Day sales, thanks to timely help from Yiwu Customs," said Zeng Xuegang, a manager at Xiangtong Supply Chain Management Co.

To date, 11 cross-border e-commerce companies have resumed operations, with 584 employees returning to work. All companies have taken strict measures to disinfect public areas and all employees were given medical supplies and detailed training on epidemic prevention.